On the flip side it’s much easier to stay on task in an office, particularly if you don’t make the mistake of intentionally introducing distractions like installing games or getting into the habit of reading news sites.

I also can’t stress your MAKE A LIST point enough. When you’re mind is in a doing mood you shouldn’t be wasting this by flipping into the processing tasks mode. David Allen’s system is great for this because it emphasizes the NEXT ACTION for getting something done. So instead of writing down what might actually be a project like “build deck”, you put down “buy wood at the hardware store” to give a concrete action you can just get up and do. When you have that list you can keep your momentum going for a long time.

- Making a list of things to get done that day (the absence of one almost guarentees procrastination)

- Having a minimum number of hours to work each day. For myself I set a minimum 8 hours a day with an extra few hours at the end of the day if I’m not too brain frazzled. What this means is that even though I might be tempted to sleep in or take a 2 hour lunch break I know that I have to make up that time by the end of the day and I’d much rather finish at my regular time if possible than be working into the night.

As you said, discipline is really the boss, you’ve got to crack the whip over your own head because no-one else is going to do it.

For myself it’s actually not even the flexible hours I love so much about running my own business, it’s the lack of usual work stresses like public transport, organising lunch and clothes the night before, being in a noisy office with a splitting headache when all you want to do is work quietly. I’ve found I’m perfectly happy to work longer hours in exchange for this reduction in stress, it’s more work but it’s better quality of life (imo).

Explanation of why being an entrepreneur doesn’t mean that you can have absolute time freedom….